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MUMBAI:
The State Government of Maharashtra has decided
to include video piracy under the Maharashtra
Prevention of Dangerous Activities (MPDA) Act,
which provides for the preventive detention
of an offender.
A
delegation of FICCI's Entertainment Committee
met Maharashtra deputy chief minister RR Patil
to felicitate the government for the support
rendered in combating the increasing evil of
film piracy.
The
delegation comprised of Raaja Kanwar - Chairman,
FICCI Digital Entertainment Forum and vice chairman,
UFO Moviez; Ronnie Screwvala, president, Film
and TV Producers' Guild of India and Chairman
UTV; Shabana Azmi, former member of parliament
and social activist; and Ritesh Sidhwani, director
Excel Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.
Speaking
to Indiantelevision.com Patil said, "The
Government has realized that it is losing crores
of rupees by way of entertainment tax and more
so in the case of Maharashtra government, as
Mumbai is the hub of the film industry. I felt
that it was the need of the hour to bring about
some changes in the existing anti-piracy Act.
Moreover the existing provisions in the current
Act are not stringent enough to deter pirates."
According to a report by Pricewaterhouse Coopers:
| Size
of the Indian film industry |
Estimated
at Rs 84.5 billion in 2006; projected to
grow to Rs 175 billion by 2011 |
| Estimated
loss to piracy |
More
than Rs 35 billion annually |
Patil
further added that no new law has been enacted
but now piracy has been brought under MPDA.
The big difference now being that as against
the earlier laws pirates were let off on bail
and/or a small fine they will now be detained
for a year as it has been made a non-bailable
offence.
"As
I also am aware that the underworld is very
actively involved in channelising their revenues
through this stream it is very important for
the Government to make this ammendement. Film
piracy has been included in the MPDA Act to
nab the criminals who are indulging in this
anti-social activity," he says.
Patil
is of the firm belief that the film industry
in order to help curb this menace should resort
to using new technology, like digitisation of
screens. "I strongly believe that technological
crimes should also be fought with more sophisticated
technology," he explained.
Welcoming
the decision, social activist and former MP
Shabana Azmi stressed on the need to sensitize
the police on implementation of the provisions
relating to video piracy under the MPDA Act.
She felt that both the entertainment industry
and the police need to be sensitized on counterfeits
and piracy.
FICCI
Digital Entertainment Forum chairman Raaja Kanwar
said, "Filmed entertainment has remained
the most popular form of entertainment in India
and the film segment has experienced steady
growth of over 15 per cent in the last few years.
It is mainly due to piracy that the growth of
this lucrative and successful industry has been
below its potential."
With
the new law to come into force within a month's
time, Patil is hopeful that this menace will
be curbed to a large extent.
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